John Barnes offers Liverpool fresh warning over handing out new Mohamed Salah contract

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It goes without saying that Mohamed Salah has been Liverpool’s most important player this season.

The Egyptian superstar has been in the form of his life across the 33 matches he has featured in, producing 25 goals and 17 assists.

Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has described Salah as being more ‘efficient’ as his contributions have helped Liverpool climb to the top of the Premier League, while the Merseyside club remain in all of the cup competitions.

Although the winger has been enjoying his season, the 32-year-old’s contract situation has been lingering in the background.

Liverpool are yet to agree a new deal with Salah and many fear that the superstar could leave this summer.

Many clubs in Saudi Arabia are interested in Salah ahead of the 2024/25 campaign but given his age, the Egyptian star is preference is likely to still compete in Europe as the winger is still at the top of his game.

Despite the Liverpool star’s form, club legend John Barnes has offered the Merseyside outfit a warning about the veteran star.

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John Barnes offers Liverpool Mohamed Salah contract warning

Since moving to Anfield in 2017, Salah has become a club legend as the winger has been the Reds’ best creative outlet since he departed AS Roma.

The 32-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down but that could be just around the corner, Barnes has warned.

Speaking at a LiveScore live fan event in Liverpool, the former England international told the PA news agency via The Independent: “If you look from an attacking perspective, we have (Luis) Diaz, (Cody) Gakpo, (Curtis) Jones and Mo is up there with the best of them at this moment in time.

“He is going to slow down maybe next year or the year after. If you look at what he’s doing now and give him a four-year contract and think he’s going to be the same in three years, he won’t. The club has to make the right decision.

“The club need to look at the end of that contract and think will he have the same impact as he has now? It happens to everyone – (Ian) Rush, (Kenny) Dalglish, Billy Liddell, happens to us all.”

This is a very reasonable way of looking at Salah’s situation as it would be unusual if the superstar gets offered a contract for more than two years.

Liverpool fans will all remember the quick fall off of Fabinho and it’s not just Salah that the Reds will need to be worried about, but also Virgil van Dijk.

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Liverpool cannot cope without Virgil van Dijk

Just like Salah, Virgil van Dijk’s contract at Anfield also expires at the end of this season as the Merseyside club continues to work behind the scenes to tie their captain down to the new deal.

Barnes thinks the Dutch international is the ‘most important’ player out of the three major stars needing a new contract as the Reds legend believes the Premier League leaders would not be able to cope without the centre-back.

“We want them all to stay, but if you were to put them in order, I would say Virgil is the most important,” Barnes said.

“I don’t think we could cope with losing him. In terms of importance, Virgil is most important. It would be great to have all three of them and the club have no control of that.”

The contract situations of Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold need to get sorted very soon as they could potentially affect Liverpool’s Premier League dreams the longer they drag on.